After the initial brew day, this first batch has proceeded rather smoothly. We’ve learned how to siphon from one container to the other without spraying one another with beer. We’ve learned how to use the nifty bottle filler that simplifies the delicate task of getting just enough but not too much beer into each bottle. We’ve mastered the art of using the bottle capper.

Based on original and final gravity numbers (OG and FG), we think the ABV will come in at about 4.2%.

With all the work we’d put into it, we were hoping for a bit higher ABV! So for our second batch, I (LKS) looked for a recipe with a larger amount of grain (more grain going in equates to more alcohol at the end). We agreed on a porter recipe that leans toward the “robust” end of the porter family. My nifty iPad brewing app indicates that we can expect an ABV of about 7.3% from our eleven pounds of barley. That’s more like it! I’ve developed a taste for porter of late — a taste that verged on an obsession when I experienced Dechutes Brewery’s special “Black Butte XXIV” anniversary porter at their brewpub in Bend last week. YUM!!!

We’re brewing our porter this afternoon and will rack it to the secondary fermenter a week from now… right about the time we plan to open our first bottles of Call 911 Amber Ale!

We’re thrilled that, when we attend our next local brewer’s guild meeting in mid-October, we’ll be able to bring a sample of our own beer for others to taste and praise (or not). Our porter won’t be ready to drink before late October, so we’ll plan on bringing that one to the November meeting.

Eventually we plan to have multiple batches going concurrently so that we’ll always have a selection of Slow Happy Brews available for drinking and sharing with friends. Hey, maybe that’s you — why not stop by when you’re in the neighborhood?